Everybody Hurts
by Modesto-Love-128898
Summary: When Rachel feels like she's had enough and can't take anymore harrassment, will Puck be able to save her before it's too late? Much better than summary, I swear . Based on the song "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. One-Shot.


**A/N:** So, let me just start by saying, I was watching season 1 of Glee and one line stood out to me. Rachel knows that everybody hates her. She's so well-informed of the fact that she tells Mr. Schuester. When I was watching, I saw that there was so much pain in her eyes as well as her voice and it nearly broke my heart. I started thinking that when person feels that way, how could they handle that pressure? For her to know that well that no one likes her, it had to have been going on for a while.

I watch a lot of videos on YouTube. In fact, I have an entire playlist devoted to those who get bullied or who were bullied. Bullying is not ok. Everyone has dealt with it whether you were the bully, the bullied or the bystander. I didn't want things to get too dark in this fanfiction which is why I thought it would be a good idea to at least add some part where it shows that no one is alone. There is always at least one person who is willing to watch out for you. Even if you don't expect them to.

This fanfic was inspired by those videos, those people as well as Glee, R.E.M. and just real life. This kind of stuff happens every single day. Every second of every day someone is being put down or bullied, thinking about suicide or trying to go through with it. It's a terrible thing and I am glad that Glee has chosen to address these issues so prominently within the series.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

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**Everybody Hurts**

"Everybody hates me," Rachel said once more after Mr. Schue had left before walking off the bleachers, unable to help the tears that were slowly trickling down her cheeks.

There was no way she was going to give people another reason to torment her. Being in Glee Club was only going to bring more trouble. She was so close to losing her mind that she could feel it fading away day after slushee-filled day. It was unbearable.

While she respected Tina and thought she was a great person, the fact that Mr. Schuester had given the goth girl the solo in place of her made her feel talentless and insignificant. She might as well be an ant on the smallest blade of grass, invisible to everyone. She already felt like she wasn't good enough. No guy wanted her. Being constantly yelled at and ridiculed during _Cabaret_ rehearsals only lowered her self-esteem. Let's not forget those stupid, cold drinks that jocks felt the need to drown her in, staining her clothes and humiliating her. She had gotten three today alone. Not to mention it was kind of hard to ignore the constant harassment she received from Jacob Ben Israel due to the fact that they cause biweekly sessions in Ms. Pillsbury's office. Her life was so screwed up it just seemed unfixable.

Her eyes were so filled with tears and blurry by this point, she didn't even notice as she passed a young, mohawked man in the hallway.

"Berry," he called, gripping her shoulder. He hated seeing girls cry, especially ones he liked. Sure, he sometimes wanted to light himself on fire around her, but no one understood that he meant that in a good way. Not only that, but he kind of owed Rachel. Last week he had stayed home to take care of his little sister when she had the flu and Rachel took notes for all of his classes so he wouldn't fall behind. (Though he never attended that many classes, it was the thought that counted. He appreciated it). "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she fibbed, faking a smile. "My allergies are just really unbearable today."

"You're lying to me," he said, his hazel eyes filling with genuine concern. "Tell me."

All she did was pull away and walk to her car. He didn't hear her mutter, under her breath, four little words that were a huge giveaway.

"I'm sick of living," she said.

[]

Getting out her tripod and video camera, Rachel was about to record her daily MySpace video when she noticed, she didn't feel the desire to sing. She didn't want to sing, to dance, to breathe. Walking over to her laptop, she sat down. There was no need for the professional quality of her video camera for what she was about to do. She pulled up her webcam and took a deep breath before hitting the record button.

"Hello. My name is Rachel Berry. By the time you see this…"

[]

Puck was only on MySpace for one reason. Rachel's daily video. He loved to hear her sing, so he had secretly been watching her videos since freshman year. That's when he saw the video. It hadn't been there the day before so he knew it must have been new. When he clicked on it, the first thing he noticed was that the quality sucked. The color was off, but at least the image was clear. The next thing he noticed was that Rachel was crying again. He could hear her sniffling and breathing to keep calm.

_Hello. My name is Rachel Berry. By the time you see this, I will be gone… I just can't take…the pain anymore. Everybody hates me. I already know. I can't go one day where I'm truly happy anymore…and I'm sick and tired of acting like I'm okay._ **She took a second to wipe her eyes. **_I have to deal with assholes like you…every single day. I'm done being called 'Man-hands' or 'Hobbit' or 'Rupal'. I'm done with having drinks thrown in my face and dumped over my head. I'm done living. _**As she took a shaky breath, Puck grew nervous. **_Being dead would be a win-win, right? No one likes me and the feeling is mutual. Dying…is the ONLY way I'll EVER be happy. I just can't take it anymore… _**She hesitated before uttering two final words**_. Fuck you. _**With that, she dumped an entire bottle of pills into her hand and the video ended.**

"Shit!" Puck exclaimed, running out of his room. He couldn't help blaming himself as he dialed 911 on his cell phone as he ran the two blocks to Rachel's house. He had known something was bothering her. He should've tried harder to help her.

Operator; what is your emergency?

"I need an ambulance, like, yesterday. I'm going to her house now, but I don't know what to do. Please! She swallowed a whole bunch of pills. She's trying to kill herself!"

What are you sir?

As he rattled off Rachel's address he ran up to her front door to find it locked. He hung up his phone after being reassured that an ambulance was en route and stashed it in the pocket of his jeans. Running around to the side of the house, he began to climb the tree to what he knew was Rachel's forever-unlocked window. Letting himself in, he frantically looked around the room.

"Fuck!" he yelled when he saw her in a heap by her door. She wasn't moving but she was breathing with an occasional flutter of her eyes. "Just hold on. Seriously, Rach, please don't do this to me. I need you. Please, just stay awake. I don't hate you. Come on!"

He could hear the sirens getting closer and he didn't want to waste any time getting her on the stretcher. Picking up the 110 pound girl, ran down the stairs and to the front door. Opening the door with one hand he raced outside to meet them. People were starting to gather outside to see what was going on.

"Hurry!" he demanded as a group of lifted Rachel's unconscious form onto a stretcher. Fighting off the arguments that only family could be in the ambulance; he lied and stated that he was her cousin.

[]

Puck never left the hospital. He had called his mother to tell her what was going on and why he hadn't picked up his sister from school like he promised. She understood. He asked her to bring his laptop and guitar then her called Artie and asked him to bring a blank DVD and begged to his video camera. Both parties complied.

He stayed for three days before his mother finally made him go back to school.

By the time Rachel woke up, her dad's were back in town from their business rip and Puck was gone. Sitting up a little bit in the hospital bed, she noticed a disc with sloppy but legible writing sitting on her lap in a clear case. Picking it up and holding it in her hands, she read the writing.

_For Berry*_

"It's from the Puckerman boy," Hiram said as LeRoy left the room to talk to the nurse. "He's been here all week practically. When he's not in school, he's here. He wanted to make sure you watched it."

"Can you play it?" she asked.

He wasn't about to say no, so, he put the DVD in the player that was anchored onto the wall across the room. Noah Puckerman's face immediately appeared on the screen and Rachel found herself feeling ashamed. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked tired. His mohwak was all over the place.

_They just pumped your stomach an hour ago_, **he said, turning the camera to her. Her body was motionless and she wore a breathing mask. **_I don't ever want to see this again_. **The camera turned back to him.** _I deleted the video from your MySpace account – Sorry. I kind of had to hack into your account. Rachel, not everyone hates you. I know I don't. You are amazing…and you should know it. I don't want you to ever feel like killing yourself is the answer to your problems. In fact, it's not even an option for you. One day, you're going to be a big star with all the big solos and roles and people are going to love you. High school won't even matter. It'll be the past. But… Until then… _**He pulled his guitar onto his lap and positioned his capo and cleared his throat.**_ I know this isn't exactly a big Broadway number, but, you love music and stuff. So, just listen really close. _**That's when the strumming began and her tears started. She knew this song. **_When the day is long and the night…the night is yours alone… When you're sure you've had enough…of this life, well hang on. Don't let yourself go. 'Cause everybody cries… And everybody hurts…sometimes…Sometimes everything is wrong… _**When he was done, he gave the camera a smile, rather than a trademark smirk before the screen went black and Rachel had tears streaming down her cheeks.**

[]

"Thank you," Rachel said two days later on his front porch. "I watched you videos and my dads' told me what you did… I am so sorry. You didn't need to do any of that." She searched his eyes for any type of response. "I baked you some of my I'm Sorry cookies." She held up a large plastic as proof. "I know had it been –"

But her words were cut off with a kiss. It was full of passion and sadness. It was slow and gentle. His hands found her waist as the kiss grew deeper and more intense. Almost losing her made him want to tell her everything he felt, but he just couldn't find the words to say. So he just kept kissing her.

"N-Noah, she stuttered when he pulled away.

"Don't you ever fucking scare me like that again," he said, still holding onto her. "I don't think I could ever live with myself if something happened to you. I was one of the people who –"

"Stop talking," she smirked with a shake of her head before pressing her lips against his.

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**A/N:** So I know it took me forever to upload this, but I hoped you like it. Thank you so much for reading, subscribing to my stories or following me as an author. I really appreciate it! Let me know what you thought.

XOXO

Ana


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